Chapter 7

The first time I saw her I thought I never saw a more defeated looking person. She sat slumped on her seat, staring into space. There was so much pain in her eyes that I wouldn’t be surprised if tears come leaking out of them. She had a very beautiful face though; it clashes with the grave look in her expression, giving away a tragic melancholy sensation that gave her an almost regal look. She just sat there, looking oddly alone, waiting for her interview and I remember thinking there was no way at all I would give her the finance.
“My name is Maya Riana” she told me when asked to introduce herself. I look at her proposal and start flipping them idly, expecting another sloppy application pitch from a typical over-ambitious beautiful girl like her. But to my amazement, it was quite good. She was very precise in the proposition with a no nonsense practicality that shows that she knew the industry well.
She explains her project with ease and confidence. Her steady voice betrays the beaten guise that her melancholy emanates. I look once more at her, more closely this time. The grief that was so profound in her eyes before were now gone. Her jaw set, her full lips gave a hint of a smile, not at all flirtious but more of a practiced professionalism. I notice that her tear drop shaped eyes were of a deep brown color, like dark chocolate. Against my will, I was mesmerized. She had the eyes that said everything, like a mirror it reflects her heart. And a very much broken heart at that if I could haphazard a guess.
I could give her the finance she seeks, I thought. But she had no background, I mean she was fresh out of college with no prior experience; I couldn’t bring myself to trust that she could handle this project she proposed regardless of how good she sounds on paper.
I was about to say no when she look at me, saying the reason she wants to do this is to avoid killing herself. She was defiantly looking back at me, daring me to condemn her jibe. I recognize that she was not being offensive. She was just hurt. There was this steely determination in her eyes now that reminds me so much of my younger self. And I found myself unbelievingly believing her dreams.
She stays true to her word. By the end of the first year her book café were up and running. She named her store Angel Book café. And I thought how very true the name was; it suits her personality perfectly. Like an angel she gave light to everybody she touches.